Ole Miss-Memphis Notebook

University of Memphis sophomore tight end Stacy Jones, who survived an offseason bout with a deadly form of cancer, has been nominated by the school for the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Courage Award.

The award is presented annually by the FWAA to the college athlete who overcomes adversity.

Jones' courageous fight with the disease certainly qualifies. He was diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumor in early February after noticing a small lump on his neck in late December and experiencing weakness in his left arm.

The aggressive tumor affects mostly males in their teens and has a 20 percent survival rate.

But Jones overcame the odds. He underwent surgery to remove most of the tumor in May and continued with chemotherapy and radiation treatments at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that began shortly after the diagnosis.

He said after a checkup last Friday, doctors told him there were no remnants of the cancer, and he was cleared to rejoin the team.

"It was one of my happier days," Jones said.

Jones, 20, will be limited in what he can do as he builds his strength and conditioning. He will not be permitted to practice or play this season. He is scheduled to go back for a checkup in December.

"It's going to be a long process," he said. "But hopefully by the spring, I'll be back out here playing. That's the goal I've set. I'm going to be back."

Jones, who jogged some on his own at his home in Columbus, Miss., earlier this month to get in shape, has observed team practices this week at the Murphy Athletic Complex, walking to the fields after completing weightlifting work.

Tiger coach Tommy West said he's happy for Jones, who was originally scheduled for a year's worth of chemotherapy.

"He's in the weight room working out, and it's going to be a pretty long process to get him back in condition from where he was," West said. "We'll just take it slow. We're glad he's back with us."

Jones, a soft-spoken, 240-pounder, said he'll wear a LIVESTRONG wrist band -- sold through the Lance Armstrong Foundation to support the fight against cancer -- as a reminder.

"I wear it to symbolize the blessing God gave me," he said. "He cured me from my cancer. It's a daily reminder for me about where I've been and where I'm going."

QB Adams looking good

Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron has been pleased with senior quarterback Seth Adams' play this week. Orgeron said naming Adams the starter last week appears to have helped his confidence.

"I think you see a lot more confidence out of him," Orgeron said, "and he's really had some good practices. But nobody's going to judge him by the way he practices. They're going to judge him by the way he plays in games so we're going to find out Saturday. I'm sure that he's going to be fine. I'm sure that he's going to be steady, like we expect. I'm sure he's going to make some mistakes. But I don't think there will be any major surprises."

Who's going to punt?

Orgeron said he has decided on a starting punter.

"Yeah," he said, "we decided we're going to surprise you guys."

The competition has involved junior Rob Park, who started the last two seasons, and sophomores Justin Sparks and Bryan Powers.

"It could really go down to pregame warmup," Orgeron said. "Just because you name a guy right now, they're so close that you go to pregame warmup and he starts shanking them, I don't think we'll start him."

Orgeron said he plans to ask assistant coaches Chris Rippon and Hugh Freeze right before kickoff which punter had the best warmup.

Another eligible Rebel

For the second straight day, Ole Miss welcomed a familiar face back to practice. Freshman offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson was cleared by the NCAA to play this fall, one day after freshman defensive lineman Ted Laurent secured academic eligibility.

Ole Miss is appealing the NCAA's ruling that prevents freshman defensive lineman Jerrell Powe from playing this season.

Ole Miss-Texas matchups set

Ole Miss and Texas finalized a deal for a two-game series in 2012 and 2013. Texas will visit Ole Miss on Sept. 15, 2012, and Ole Miss will visit Texas on Sept. 14, 2013.